Silencer

• US 4,989,252 A
• Filed: 09/28/1989
• Issued: 01/29/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sekiguchi, Yasuyuki, Nakanishi, Keiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Application Number:
  US07/413,559
• Time in Patent Office: 488 Days
• Field of Search: 381/71
• US Class Current: 381/71.3
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2500/12 Sound
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2201/30 with respect to sound
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/00 General constructional features F25D21/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17857 Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17861 using additional means for damping sound, e.g. using sound absorbing panels
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17873 using a reference signal without an error signal, e.g. pure feedforward
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/1054 Refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3036 Modes, e.g. vibrational or spatial modes
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3214 Architectures, e.g. special constructional features or arrangements of features
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3219 Geometry of the configuration

Abstract

A silencer for refrigerators includes a microphone receiving sound from a motor-compressor mounted in a machine compartment to thereby generate an electrical signal in accordance with the received sound, a signal converter converting the electrical signal generated by the noise receiver to an electrical signal for producing sound deadening the sound from the motor-compressor by the effect of sound wave interference, and a speaker for producing the sound based on the signal converted by the signal converter so that the sound interferes with the sound from the motor-compressor. The machine compartment is closed with a ventilating opening left opened. One of dimensions of the machine compartment in the three-dimensional directions is set at a value larger than those of the others so that a standing wave of the sound from the motor-compressor in the machine compartment is composed only in a primary mode in a low frequency range below 700 Hz. The ventilating opening is formed into a generally rectangular shape extending in the direction perpendicular to the direction that the standing wave travels.

Claims

1. A silencer for deadening sound from a sound source comprising:

a sound receiver receiving sound from said sound source to thereby generate an electrical signal in accordance with the received sound;

signal converting means for converting the electrical signal generated by said sound receiver to an electrical signal corresponding to sound interfering with the sound to be received by said sound receiver so that the sound from said sound source is deadened by the effect of sound wave interference;

sound producing means for producing sound in accordance with the electrical signal generated by said signal converting means; and

a compartment for enclosing said sound source, said sound receiver and said sound producing means, said compartment being defined by side, bottom, ceiling, front and rear walls so that one of the dimensions of said compartment in the directions of the length, height and width thereof is set at a value larger than a wavelength of the sound to be deadened and the other dimensions thereof are set at respective values smaller than the wavelength of the sound to be deadened such that a standing wave of the sound to be deadened is composed only in said one direction, said compartment having a ventilating opening formed in a predetermined position of at least one of the walls defining the same, said ventilating opening being formed in a generally slender rectangular shape, a direction of a length of the ventilating opening intersecting perpendicularly the direction in which the standing wave of the sound travels in the compartment.

2. A silencer according to claim 1, wherein the sound source includes a motor-compressor comprising a refrigerating cycle means.

3. A silencer according to claim 1, wherein each of the walls defining the compartment is formed of a hard material having metal-like properties of heat transmission and noise reduction.

4. A silencer according to claim 1, wherein the ventilating opening is positioned at one end side of one of the compartment walls extending longitudinally.

5. A silencer according to claim 4, wherein the ventilating opening is partitioned into a plurality of portions in the direction intersecting the direction in which the standing wave of the sound travels in the compartment.

6. A silencer according to claim 4, wherein the sound producing means is disposed at the side of the ventilating opening and the sound receiver is disposed at the side opposite the ventilating opening side with respect to the direction in which the compartment extends longitudinally.

7. A refrigerator comprising:

a heat-insulative cabinet having a storage compartment therein and an evaporator provided therein so as to comprise a refrigerating cycle means;

an outer casing provided on the top of the heat-insulative cabinet so as to define a cavity therein, said outer casing enclosing a motor-compressor comprising the refrigerating cycle means;

a silencer for deadening sound generated by the motor-compressor, comprising a compartment defined by a partition wall in the cavity so as to have side, upper, bottom, front and rear walls, a sound receiver disposed with the motor-compressor in the compartment so as to receive sound generated by the motor-compressor to thereby generate an electrical signal in accordance with the received sound, signal converting means to convert the electrical signal generated by the sound receiver to an electrical signal to produce a sound to interfere with the sound received by the sound receiver, sound producing means provided in the compartment producing sound for deadening the sound from the motor-compressor by the effect of sound wave interference, and one of the dimensions of the compartment in the directions of the length, height and width thereof being set at a value larger than those of the others such that a standing wave of the sound to be deadened is composed only in said one direction.

8. A refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the dimensions of the compartment in said other directions are shorter than the wavelength of the sound to be deadened.

9. A refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the compartment has a ventilating opening formed in at least one of the walls defining the compartment and wherein the ventilating opening is formed into a generally slender rectangular shape so as to longitudinally intersect the direction in which the standing wave of the sound travels in the compartment.

10. A refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein the ventilating opening is positioned at one end side of one of the compartment walls extending longitudinally.

11. A refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the ventilating opening is formed in the upper wall of the compartment.

12. A refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the ventilating opening is formed in one of the side walls of the compartment.

13. A refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the ventilating opening is formed in a corner portion of one of the side walls of the compartment.

14. A refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the sound producing means is disposed on the partition wall.

15. A refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the compartment is formed by two opposed partition walls or more so as to be away from front and rear walls or side walls of the outer casing.

16. A refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein the dimensions of the compartment in said other directions are shorter than the wavelength of the sound to be deadened.

17. A refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein the compartment has a ventilating opening formed in at least one of the walls defining the compartment and wherein the ventilating opening is formed into a generally slenderly rectangular shape so as to longitudinally intersect the direction in which the standing wave of the sound travels in the compartment.

18. A refrigerator according to claim 17, wherein the ventilating opening is positioned at one end side of one of the compartment walls extending longitudinally.

19. A refrigerator according to claim 18, the ventilating opening is formed in the upper wall of the compartment.

20. A refrigerator according to claim 18, wherein the ventilating opening is formed in one of the side walls of the compartment.

21. A refrigerator according to claim 18, wherein the ventilating opening is formed in a corner portion of one of the side walls of the compartment and which further comprises another ventilating opening formed in one of the partition walls, disposed so as to correspond to the corner portion of the side wall in which said ventilating opening is formed.

22. A refrigerator according to claim 18, which further comprises an electrical parts assembly provided on the partition wall, said electrical parts assembly including the sound producing means and signal converting means.